London assembly member for North East London — fighting your corner at City Hall

16th April 2020

11:31am

COVID-19 UPDATE

BUS DRIVER SAFETY

On the tragic news that bus
workers have lost their lives after testing positive for Coronavirus, I welcome
on behalf of my constituents the actions being taken by the Mayor of London to
keep them safe.

He said, “We have already put in
place an enhanced anti-viral cleaning regime across the network, applied
protective film to the Perspex screen of bus driver cabs to seal off holes,
prevented passengers sitting next to bus drivers and are trialling middle-door only
boarding on several routes bus routes.

“I know staff are worried and
many have asked for PPE. We are working closely with the trade unions. There
are clearly issues in the supply of PPE, with hospitals and care homes
reporting shortages, but I’ve also asked TfL to look into the availability of
PPE stock for transport workers, in case advice from public health experts
changes.”

The devastating impact of the
virus has been felt by a number of my constituents. All of those who have stepped forward to serve on the frontline in
the battle against the pandemic are true heroes.